When we wrote our "social networking" White Paper back in late 2004, the question on everyone's minds then was, "but where's the business model?"

"Social networking" is a term that has less and less meaning now that "social media" is becoming quite mainstream (or at least a part of almost every new online offering). But one of the early sites, and something of a survivor in the space, LinkedIN announced that premium services had helped move the company toward profitability, which it will achieve very soon.

There were a number of sites in the business networking space, most of which no longer exist. Heavy credit must go to tireless (dare I say "relentless") :) marketer Konstantin Guericke, VP of marketing and cofounder of LinkedIn. And no, I'm not on his payroll. LinkedIN was quick and creative and able to establish critical mass. It's kind of like the MySpace of networking � although it existed before MySpace and right now that may not be such a compliment.

We use LinkedIN for our pre/post-conference networking and it has worked out nicely. If you're coming to Drilling Down and would like to take advantage of that, click here.